IAMGOLD Closes $360 Million Sale Of Rosebel As It Works To Fund Cote Project
IAMGOLD (TSX: IMG) officially has one less asset under its belt. The firm has formally closed a transaction with Zijin Mining, which saw the sale of Rosebel Gold Mines N.V..
The transaction saw IAMGOLD dispose of its 95% interest in the Suriname gold operation for gross proceeds of $360 million in the form of cash. Also included in the sale was the release of equipment lease liabilities that total $41 million, freeing up space on the firms balance sheet.
READ: BMO Cuts IAMGOLD’s Price Target On Rosebel Mine Divesture
“With the completion of the sale of Rosebel, IAMGOLD has achieved an important milestone in the Company’s strategy to create value for our stakeholders through disciplined portfolio management to fund the Côté Gold Project. Côté Gold today is over 70% complete and remains on track for production in early 2024. This transaction, in addition to the previously announced sale of IAMGOLD’s West African gold assets and the financing agreement with Sumitomo, ensures the current remaining funding requirements for completion of construction at Côté have been met,” commented interim CEO Maryse Belanger on the transaction.
Funding Cote
The sale of the Rosebel asset will see “the full net sale proceeds [used] towards the construction of the Cote Gold project,” which the company indicated at the time of the announced sale in October. Another asset sale announced in December, consisting of the firms interest in the Bambouk exploration assets in Senegal, Mali, and Guinea, will see additional consideration of $282 million also put forward into the development of the Cote Gold project, as the company continues to put all of its eggs in one basket.
READ: IAMGOLD To Sell Additional Assets For US$282 Million As It Works To Fund Cote Gold Project
These asset sales, combined with $340 million obtained via a revised joint venture arrangement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co and SMM Gold Cote, are expected to provide enough funding to see the project progress through to completion. The revised joint venture arrangement however cost the company a 10% interest in the Cote Project, which it may repurchase via the repayment of the original figure plus several additional fees. IAMGOLD will retain just 60% of the project following the funding, and prior to the potential repurchase of the 10% interest.
READ: IAMGOLD Sees Executives Continue To Depart Company
The Cote Project is said to currently be “over 70% complete,” with production slated to begin early next year. A full update on the project and its current costing is slated to be released later this month, when the company releases its full fourth quarter financial results on February 16.
IAMGOLD last traded at $3.74 on the TSX.
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